Love Vigilantes
by headagainsthesky
Summary: As punishment for his reckless ways, Edward's parents send him from his home in Chicago to live with his uncle in Forks. Slightly OOC/AU
1. Prologue

_DISCLAIMER: i do not own twilight, stephenie meyer owns all things pertaining to twilight, and in turn probably my fanfic. _

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**PROLOGUE  
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My mother's weary smile wavered as she gave my hand one final squeeze. I shifted awkwardly, pulling it from her grasp and grabbing the strap to the backpack slung over my shoulder. The tears in her eyes caused a twinge of guilt to pass through me. Why the hell did _I_ feel guilty? She was sending me to live in the shit hole. I sighed remembering the night she and my father sat me down and broke the news of my immediate departure, or violation as I saw it.

"Edward, you're going to stay with your Uncle Charlie," my father said. I watched his boring brown eyes glance up from the 'Chicago Times' briefly before they returned to the day's headlines.

"Why the hell would you do that?" I asked, my eyes seeking my mother. She sat silent to Edward Sr.'s left, her petite form slumped in-- shame?

"Your mother and I think it would be best, considering the circumstances." The bastard couldn't even look at me.

I found myself laughing. "It's not like anyone got killed, it was just a car."

"Just a car?" He roared. He quickly dropped the paper to the table before him, "What about three weeks before that? What was that then?" I shrugged. So what if I wasn't the world's safest driver, I wasn't the only one. "And in September, what was that?"

"It was a fucking car then too," I retorted.

His eyes were suddenly enraged, but as he went to speak, he was cut off by the usually timid voice of my mother, which was shaking with anger. "You could have killed someone! I turned my head twice, Edward, twice! Not again." She shook her head furiously, stilling both my father and I. "We tried, we really did, but three cars later, we can't keep it going." Tears streamed down her cheeks mixing with strands of her bronze hair, the same hair I inherited.

My father placed his arm around her shoulders and held her shaking form. "Charlie has been kind enough to take you in until you finish high school."

I zoned out as he went on. My own parents were banishing me.

I was brought back from my reverie as my mother's hand tenatively brushed my cheek. I shrugged away. Hurt passed through her emerald eyes, my eyes. No matter how pissed I was, I couldn't help but pull my mother against my chest and hold her as she wept. I breathed a kiss onto the top of her head. We stood like this for what felt like minutes until the scratchy voice on the airport intercom announced the departure of my plane.

"I'm gonna miss my flight, Ma," I whispered, willing her arms to retract from where they stayed around my waist.

I felt her nod as she stepped away, a small smile sitting on her lips. "I love you."

"You too," I returned. I flashed her one of my crooked smiles and turned to head down to my gate.

I almost missed my mother's voice as she called after me, "Don't forget to call when you get there!"

I held up my hand behind me, acknowledging that I had heard her. I stood in the long line to check-in, the one way ticket to Forks, Washington scorching my hand. As I handed the boarding pass to the middle-aged blonde lady at the counter, I ran my fingers through my unruly hair.

"Enjoy your flight, Mr. Masen," she said with a fake smile. She had to hate her job.

I took the boarding pass from her hand and stepped through the gangway to the plane. I found a seat close to the wing, I wanted to be able to see if the engine exploded, and in turn an emergency exit. As I settled into my seat, I pulled my i-POD from my backpack and stuffed the earbuds into my ear. The music that reverberated into my eardrums made even the usual safety routine that the flight attendents displayed somewhat less obnoxious. It wasn't long before the plane taxied out onto the tarmac and Chicago O'Hare was gradually growing further away. I watched out the window as the familiar skyline disappeared from view, the plane ascending into the clouds that covered the city.

Of course my last chance to be in a sunny place, and the clouds had already moved in. What the fuck was I gonna do in Forks?

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**AN: please, please, please read and respond. this is my first ever twilight fic any and all feedback will be great. :D**


	2. Chapter 1: Dearest Forsaken

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT. OWNS IT.**

**A/N**: **story and chapter titles all belong to the wonderful iron and wine, i merely borrowed them. i also have to thank everyone who has been leaving reviews and adding me to your alerts. you all make me squee! it makes me want to keep writing. **

**hopefully i'll be able to have something published at least once a week... maybe more often than that. **

**also a quick thanks to my "unofficial" betas: my (aka **untidytowns)

**and the wonderful chevy, who entertains my "research" until the wee hours of the morning. YOU KNOW YOU LIKE IT.  
**

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**CHAPTER 1: DEAREST FORSAKEN**

The rain was falling in buckets as soon as I set foot on the tarmac in Port Angeles. Go fucking figure. By the time I was inside the small airport, my shirt was sticking to me and I knew it was only a matter of time before my jeans would be suctioned irritatingly to my legs. Better get used to it.

I hadn't seen Charlie since I was nine, when my grandmother had died. I glanced around the airport lobby, scanning for any familiar face. Great, he wasn't here. He probably fucking forgot me. I heaved my backpack over my shoulder moving with the small crowd to what I imagined was the baggage claim. I stifled my laughter as I realized all it was, was a room containing our bags. A man stood in front of the door, a name badge hanging from a lanyard around his neck. He was passing a woman in front of my a bright pink suitcase. I saw my worn, leather duffel behind him, handing him my boarding pass to verify when he finally got to me. I scanned the lobby once more for Charlie before I dragged myself outside.

The pathetic excuse for awning covering the drop off zone barely succeeded in keeping the rain drops at bay. This was bullshit. A bitter laugh left my lips and I stumbled back to the bench pressing against the airport wall, dragging my duffel with me. I pulled my cell from my pocket, the need to call my mother suddenly pressing. Maybe if I begged and swore to behave this nightmare I was living would be over. My mother had always been a pushover.

I flipped open my phone and groaned. Great. No fucking service. This was just great. I shoved my phone back in my pocket, wondering idly if I should just toss it. I entertained the thought for another moment and just as I pinched the bridge of my nose, the sound of a car idling at the curb in front of me, brought my eyes from the ground to the police cruiser that sat in front of me.

Charlie.

Standing, I pulled my bags with me and let myself in the car. Of course the Forks police chief would show up to get his delinquent nephew in his cruiser. I slid into the front seat, tossing my bags into the back, giving Charlie a tight nod. His returning nod was just as stiff. I sat back in the seat, bringing my knee up and resting my arm against it as I looked out the window. When the car didn't move, I risked a glance to Charlie.

He was staring out the windshield, his left hand playing absently with his mustache while his right rested on the steering wheel. "Seat belt," he stated simply in a gravelly voice that I couldn't remember him having.

I tugged the offending piece of metal and polyester across my front, clicking it into place. Like it would do anything if we crashed. As soon as Charlie heard the noise, he put the car in drive and we rolled out of the airport. We hadn't been out of Port Angeles long when I heard him clear his throat. I turned my head from where it rested on my arm to stare at him.

"How's your mom?" He asked gently.

I shrugged, turning back to look out the window. "You talked to her more recently than I did."

Charlie huffed. Barely ten minutes and ten words and I was already pissing him off. Maybe I could make _him_ send me home.

"Edward, I'm doing this as a favor to her," he said, his voice even, "if you weren't here they were planning to send you to some school. Consider yourself lucky."

Military school for wrecking some cars? My parents were losing it. Instead I was going to be living with the small town cop who probably thought he had balls of steel and was a bad ass. I snickered to myself. He had more than likely brought the damn cruiser to intimidate me. He shot me a look as I laughed, but his brown eyes quickly fell back to the road before him. The heavy sigh he released told me he wasn't going to try anymore. At least he could take a hint.

I returned my head to my arm, watching the green walls blurring together through the window. The dense forests were a definite change from the industrialized city I was used to. I picked my head up and pulled my other knee up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them and resting my face against my knees. I sensed Charlie's eyes pass over me and half expected him to make a comment about the dangers of sitting like I was. To my surprise, he said nothing.

In what seemed like no time at all, the cruiser's speed dropped catching my attention as we grew closer to town. I once again turned my head to gaze out the window just in time to see '_The City of Forks Welcomes You_' emblazoned on an old wooden sign. More like fucks you. I felt the knot in my chest tighten. Charlie shifted, clearly uncomfortable, in his seat. His eyes wandered over to me anxiously and I found myself turning my eyes towards him.

"We'll be passing the high school in a minute," he volunteered.

While I was stewing in self pity, I had nearly forgotten that I would be starting at a new high school. Forks was fucking me.

I watched the hideous, brick buildings as we passed by them, cars still sitting in the parking lot as people hung around talking. I guess that was the only thing to do here. Shortly past the school we turned of the main highway and onto a side street that was lined by small houses. I vaguely remembered coming here when I was younger, and the image grew stronger as Charlie pulled up in front of the last house on the street, backing the cruiser into the small driveway.

"I know it's nothing big," he said, watching my expression, "but there's a bed for you."

I nodded. Why the hell did he seem so embarrassed? I grabbed my duffel and my backpack, trudging along behind Charlie as he unlocked the door. We stepped into the kitchen which was painted a hideous pale yellow color. The cabinets weren't much better as I couldn't even tell what color they were meant to be. Charlie walked straight through and to the stairs that lie just beyond the kitchen. He glanced back to make sure I was following and I immediately disguised the disgust on my face. A tight-lipped smile forced it's way out and I walked towards the man who still stood at the bottom step.

Charlie rubbed a hand across the back of his neck as he said, "Your room's at the top of the stairs. The bathroom's across the hallway and I'm next to that. If you need anything, I'll, uh, be watching the game."

"Thanks," I mumbled. He turned and disappeared into the living room, sinking into a worn, leather recliner. I stood at the stairs for a moment before finally building up the nerve to go upstairs. The bathroom was fine enough. Charlie had tried to clean the stains that littered the ancient bathtub and sink, but it was quite clearly impossible. The toilet seat was propped open which made me smile. It would be nice not to have to worry about flipping it down every time I came out of there.

I turned from there and headed straight into what was now my room. He had cleaned in here too, and had even put clean sheets and a comforter on the bed. I dropped my duffel by the door, deciding that I would go through it later. The walls in this room were thankfully white. The thought to ask my mother to send a few things from my room at home sprung to my mind. I doubt Charlie was going to give a shit whether I hung anything on the walls or not. I sat down on the bed, glancing at the desk that was mere centimeters from the headboard. It extended to the far wall, by the closet, and rested underneath a window that looked out over the front yard. A tree hid much of the view.

Maybe I would have a use for that tree at some point. Sneaking out of my house in Chicago had been a joke. My parents room was on the opposite side of the house and I had always been able to go right through the front door with neither of them the wiser. The fleeting thought brought a smirk to my lips. I forced it back and turned my eyes to the small dresser that sat the foot of the bed. At least I hadn't brought that much.

A throat being cleared startled me back and I found Charlie leaning against the door frame. "Well?"

"Well what?" I felt the urge to retract the words as soon as I spoke them.

Charlie's jaw tightened and his warm, brown eyes squeezed shut. He brought his hand up to his head, running it through his quickly receding hair. _That's_ where I got it from. Huh. "What do you think?"

He wanted my opinion? On Forks? The snort that worked it's way out seemed to startle him. "It's different."

"I'm sure it'll take some getting used to after being in Chicago," he agreed, "but once you're here, it's hard to get away."

Poor Charlie. Was he delusional? I raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out if he was making some sort of joke. "I'm outta here as soon as I graduate."

It was Charlie's turn to snort. What the hell? Did he not think I was going to fucking graduate? Weren't your legal guardians _supposed_ to encourage you, not doubt your abilities? He must have realized my mood change as he added quickly, "I just wanted to see what you like on your pizza... I figured we'd just order in tonight so you can get settled."

I didn't want to get settled. I didn't want to stay with this asshole. Who the hell did he think he was? He didn't know me. I pinched the bridge of my nose, forcing myself to calm down. He didn't know me, that's what the problem was. My mother's little brother was a bachelor. He had never married, never had kids. He spent his twenties chasing after the aspirations he had in the sheriff's office and his thirties climbing the ranks. Now at 39, my uncle was a middle-aged man who was married to his work. The only teenagers he had experience with were the ones that ran around cow tipping on the weekends... or whatever the fuck they do around here.

Charlie cleared his throat again. Right. "I'll eat anything," I finally managed.

He nodded once before disappearing down the stairs. He was a man of few words and I couldn't help but like him. As awkward as he was, there was something about the man that made me _want_ to like him. But more importantly for him to like me.

I lifted my tired body off the bed, and went over to my duffel bag. I might as well get it put away while waiting for food. I heard Charlie's voice drift up the stairs as he ordered our dinner. When he hung up, there was a brief silence before I was able to hear the sports commentators on the TV. Football from the sounds of it. I listened to them absently as I moved around my new room, putting things up where I wanted them. I was in the midst of putting my ditty bag up when the doorbell rang. My toothbrush dropped from my fingers into the cup holder that held Charlie's and I slowly made my way downstairs.

Charlie was standing in the kitchen, his back to me as he reached into one of the cabinets and pulled down a couple plates. "Thanks," I mumbled stepping down from the bottom stair. He turned slightly, his gaze curious. "For taking me in, picking me up from the airport, making the bed..."

His weight shifted and he grumbled something that I didn't catch, but could have been, 'welcome.' One of the plates he held was thrust in my direction and I took it going to where the pizza sat on the table. I opened the box, taking a couple slices and sliding them onto the plate. I didn't even bother to look at what I was eating, just knowing that I was starving.

I watched Charlie shuffle past me to the living room and after a moment, I followed. He sat in the recliner while I sank down onto a tattered, green sofa. Figuring the shit was going to be a succession of springs sticking into my ass while I sat, I was surprised to find it extremely comfortable. We ate in silence, our eyes on the large flat-screen TV that adorned the wall, watching the game. When the final score was announced, I picked myself up off the couch, stretching and taking my plate to the sink. I looked around for a dishwasher only to realize that there wasn't one. Didn't every kitchen have one? Charlie obviously hadn't gotten the memo. I turned the sink on and waited for the water to heat before I washed my dish and set it on the drying rack that sat on the counter.

As I passed through the living room, Charlie's shocked gaze followed me. I ignored the look and said, "I'm going to bed."

I hadn't even made it halfway up the stairs when the recliner moved. "Edward!"

I turned and looked at my uncle where he stood at the bottom. "Yea?"

"Your mom helped me get you registered for classes," he glanced up at me, as if waiting for my consent, when I did nothing he continued, "your advisory class starts at 8:15."

I nodded. At least it wasn't too early. "Are you going to drop me off?"

The smile that twitched at the corner of his mouth irritated me. Instead of answering, he simply nodded and turned back to the living room and whatever was on the TV.

I stomped the rest of the way up the stairs and into the bathroom.

The water in the shower felt great on my travel weary body. The sinewy muscles relaxed easily under the warm stream of water. I was reluctant to drag myself from the shower, but as the water grew cooler, I gave in. I pulled on a pair of pajama pants, and finished with my nightly routine before going into my room. While I was showering, the rain had picked back up outside and I could hear the branches of the tree scraping the window.

I grabbed the extra pillow I had found at the top of the closet and flopped down on the bed. I had every intention of covering my head with the old pillow to block the squeal of the branches across the glass panes. Yet as soon as my head hit the pillow that Charlie had covered with a pillowcase, the noise didn't seem to matter.


	3. Chapter 2: Sacred Vision

**disclaimer: i do not own anything. owns everything, which in turn probably includes my story. chapter titles and story titles all belong to the amazing iron and wine.  
**

**A/N: sorry that it took so long to get this posted. lots of school and work, and medical stuff. yay. you can blame the anesthesia for any mistakes. :D**

**once again thanks to my wonderful "unofficial" beta, my (aka untidytowns) 333  
**

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**CHAPTER 2: SACRED VISION  
**

I woke with a start-- an unusual rumbling breaking through the light spatter of rain that was still hitting the window. What the hell _is_ that? I grumbled, rubbing my hands roughly over my eyes. Surprisingly I had slept well. The bed in Charlie's guest room-- my room, was incredibly comfortable. I wondered why he even had it since none of the family had been to visit him since Grandmother had died. I reached over grabbing my cell off the desk and checked the time. 6:57 A.M. Why the fuck would anyone be up at this time in Forks?

As if on cue the front door opened and closed quickly. Charlie's voice breaking through the sudden quiet. "You shouldn't be driving."

My interest piqued, I stood and slid a finger between the slats on the blinds finding Charlie standing at the driver's door to an old red, rusted pick up. A petite girl was stepping out, her straight black hair swinging freely to the middle of her back and her russet skin concealing the blush that covered her cheeks.

"Billy couldn't drive himself," she retorted.

I watched as Charlie walked to the bed of the truck and pulled a black and metal object from where it lay. A wheelchair? He brought it back to the passenger side door, unfolding it in time to help the older looking man down from the truck. His black hair reached to his shoulders and deep-set lines graced his kind looking face. This must be Billy. His dark eyes glanced up at the house and I instinctively pulled away letting the blinds fall back into place. The front door opened again and the three voices carried up to me. I sighed slipping a shirt on over my bare chest and slid out of my sleep pants only to slide my jeans on. I hurried across the hall to the bathroom and finished my usual morning routine, shaving the five o'clock shadow off my cheeks and brushing my teeth. I ran a hand through my unruly bronze hair, debating on whether or not to attempt tackling it with gel. The thought tugged me back to my room where I got as far as my suitcase before I decided against it. What the fuck did I care if these people didn't like how I looked? I'm sure the whole town was informed that Chief Swan's delinquent nephew was going to be living with him.

At least no one would fuck with me.

Grabbing my backpack, I headed downstairs finding Charlie, Billy, and the girl sitting down at the table. I paused in the doorway until Charlie cleared his throat. Billy and the girl smiled at me, the latter ducking behind the curtain of her dark hair. I offered my own smile, a smirk, entertained by the idea that the girl was attracted to me.

"Edward," Charlie finally said, "this is Billy Black and Leah Clearwater. They live down in La Push on the Quiliuete reservation."

"Hi," I smiled, "it's nice to meet you."

Leah's blush grew even more as I spoke. I raised an eyebrow in amusement and went over to the fridge. I took a slice of the pizza from it's box, taking a bite. "Don't you want to heat that?" Leah asked quietly.

I laughed. "Nah, my dad and I always ate it like this when I was little."

She ducked her head again and picked at the cereal on the table in front of her. She was cute. A little young, but cute. I looked away from her to find Charlie hiding an amused smile. My eyes turned to Billy who looked a bit angry.

"Charlie's told me a lot about you." The lines on his face that had seemed kind to me from the window, now seemed cold.

"Nothing bad, I hope."

Charlie snorted and Billy asked, "Is there anything good?"

I suddenly wished I had forgone the pizza. The anger that rose in me was trying to force its way from my lips. I held my tongue. It's not like I was a fucking murderer. I hadn't hurt anyone-- ever. My grades were all perfect. So what if I let my temper get the best of me half the time? Ok, all the time. And I really couldn't help that I liked driving fast. It wasn't like I had been counting on hitting the patches of black ice, or finding that damn dog sitting in the road. The cars were all accidents. I found the trashcan in the cabinet beneath the sink, tossing the cold half-eaten pizza in before I pinched the bridge of my nose, forcing the anger back.

Billy had started in on some fishing trip they were planning when Charlie asked me, "Do you like fishing?"

The excitement in his eyes made me wonder if he had decided to take me in so he could get his fatherly intuition out.

I shook my head. "I don't see the point of sitting in a boat all day waiting for something that may never come."

He seemed to deflate at my admission. He stood abruptly, collecting Billy's coffee mug and Leah's cereal bowl and setting them in the sink. Was this a usual morning routine?

"I've got to get them back to La Push," he explained.

I watched Leah as she stood silently and went to push Billy out the door. As they disappeared through the doorway Charlie grabbed his gun belt from the hook next to the door, he started to say something but stopped, nodding instead.

I nodded back. He was starting to shut the door when it hit me. "Am I supposed to walk to school?" I knew it was right down the road, but shit.

The door flew back open and Charlie reappeared, a grin on his face. "Oh yea," he laughed, "I had forgotten." He took a set of keys out of his pocket and handed them to me.

Were these the keys to the cruiser? Damn, Charlie must really like me. "I didn't think you were able to loan out the cruiser..."

His eyes widened in alarm. "Those aren't to the cruiser, they're the keys to your truck."

_My_ truck? That monstrous gas guzzler outside? "What?" I managed.

"I know part of the stipulation was no driving, but I figured since that truck doesn't go anything over 50 that it wouldn't be a problem."

Doesn't go over 50? My parents really did want me to die in Forks. Charlie was still standing there so I forced a 'thanks' to fall from my lips. He nodded again, slipping out the door. I watched him through the kitchen window helping Billy into the cruiser. I looked away to the hideous monster that sat in the gravel on the shoulder of the road. It was nothing that I had ever pictured myself driving. Regret passed through me as my thoughts flickered to the Volvo I had wrecked in Chicago. I had loved that car.

"Damn black ice," I murmured.

I grabbed a water before heading out the door. It was still early and I didn't figure that many people would be at Forks High yet, but I still had to get my schedule. It was going to be a pain in the ass finding my classes and there was no way in hell that I was going to carry a map around. I'd figure it out-- it couldn't be too hard. Forks High School was less than half the size of my school at home.

Home. _This_ was home now.

The truck roared to life, the steering wheel shaking beneath my hands. This was going to take some getting used to. When I pulled onto the main highway, I decided to test the truck's speed restrictions. It started groaning and shuddering violently as soon as I pushed it to 45. So Charlie had been over exaggerating. Great. I lifted my foot, letting the speed drop down to a crawl. Finally the school came into view and I turned off the road into a parking lot. I looked at the buildings realizing that each one had a white brick that held a number in the top corner just underneath the roof's eave. They were going to make this too easy for me. I drove around until I found the office. The parking lot outside held a sign that clearly stated this was faculty parking only. There were only a couple cars in the lot so I parked the truck next to an older Mazda and headed inside.

The woman behind the desk was middle-aged, her short, curly hair piled on her head. The red color of it was obviously dyed, probably in an attempt to hide gray. She glanced up when she heard the door and smiled. "How can I help you, dear?" Her voice reminded reminded me of my kindergarten teacher.

"I'm Edward Masen-- my uncle registered me for classes..." the recognition in her eyes broke through. She seemed shocked.

"Chief Swan's nephew!" Another smile crossed her thin lips. "It's so great you're finally here... he seemed so excited when he came in to register you."

"Yea, um, I just need my schedule." I wondered what else she knew about me. The thought made me anxious. If she knew this much, the students would know more. Fuck.

"Of course, dear." She typed a couple things into the computer in front of her then grabbed a sheet of paper off the printer. She dug another sheet out from a file cabinet-- a map. Once she handed me my schedule, she showed me the best ways to get to my classes. I thanked her knowing I would never use that shit and she had wasted her time.

There was a steady stream of cars pulling off the highway now. I slipped into the flow and found a parking space in the student lot. I wasn't comfortable enough with the truck's turning radius, so I pulled into a space that no one had parked near. I was sure that my truck was the worst car in the lot. When I stepped out, I glanced around self consciously. I was used to my car bringing looks of appreciation, not the snickers that I was receiving. All of the cars in the lot were at least a few years old. There was nothing brand new which was comforting. The best looking car, having been completely restored, was a metallic blue Chevy Nova with white racing stripes. It was a nice fucking car. The guy who owned it was a lucky bastard.

I ignored all the stares I was receiving and hurriedly found my way to my English class. Once inside the room, there were a set of hooks to immediate left where raincoats were already hanging. The teacher, Mr. Mason, according to my schedule, was sitting at his desk. As I approached his desk, he looked up at me, his eyes squinted as if he were trying to remember me.

"I'm Edward Masen," I stated at his dumbfound look.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Masen," he looked back down to his desk, then moved some things aside before picking up a sheet of paper and passing it to me, "this is your reading list, you'll be required to purchase the text on your own. There's a seat on the third row, fourth desk back, that's empty."

I nodded and turned to take my seat. I glanced over the reading list to find the names of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Dostoevsky, all of which I had already read in Chicago. Perfect. This was going to be a breeze. A bell sounded just as the desk to my right became occupied. I turned to find a kid with spiky, blond hair. He simply epitomized the high school stereotype. I shook my head and faced the front, waiting for class to start.

"You're Chief Swan's nephew, aren't you?" The kid next to me asked. I nodded, not giving him another glance. "Mike Newton." He thrust his hand into the space between us.

I stared at it for a moment before finally grasping it in my own hand. "Edward."

"Everyone's been talking about you since Chief Swan said you'd be living with him." He turned in his seat looking at me anxiously. Was he really expecting me to tell him my life story?

I laughed. "I don't know why."

"Didn't you move from Chicago or something?"

"Yea."

"Why in the hell would you move to Forks?"

Curiosity was coloring his face. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"I didn't have a choice." I was thankful as the bell sounded again, and Mr. Mason stood in the front of the class, immediately diving into the lecture about Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story The Yellow Wallpaper. Thankfully Mike was too preoccupied trying to read the story that he didn't say another word to me.

When the bell rang, I was quick to leave the room before he could talk again. Unfortunately he was in my P.E. class with me. Coach Clapp was kind enough to let me sit out and observe the class as they played basketball in the gym. In Chicago we had only needed two P.E. credits to graduate and I had filled them both during my freshman and sophomore year. Now in Forks, I had to take the class until I graduated.

The class was over quickly and Mike followed me from the gym, tailing me like a lost dog. What the fuck was he looking for?

"I heard you got expelled from your school in Chicago for sleeping with some teacher..." He stated nonchalantly.

I snorted. "Yea, that's it."

Mike bounced excitedly next to me. "Dude! Was she hot?"

I rolled my eyes. "There was no teacher, Mike."

"Oh," he sighed, disappointed, "then what was it?"

"I got in some car wrecks and my parents were pissed so they shipped me out here," I knew he wasn't going to give up, so I gave in, "they knew I couldn't get into much trouble in Forks."

He nodded. "There's fuck-all to do around here."

I turned to head down a hallway when Mike stopped. "I've got Statistics."

"Oh, I'm headed to Spanish." He seemed disappointed again. "I'll save ya a seat at lunch."

"Thanks," I mumbled as he headed off. Great. I was stuck with the idiot.

The next two classes flew by, there were people who introduced themselves, no one who I even cared to remember. There was a girl in my Stats class who was just as annoying as the Newton kid, if not worse. At least Mike wasn't flirting with me. She ended up following me to my history class, finally leaving as her friend called her away. Her frizzy brown hair brushing my arm as she turned quickly. History was a breeze and it felt nice to actually sit in a class where no one spoke to me. After history was lunch and then biology. I spotted Newton easily in the lunchroom. He was sitting at a table with a small, greasy-black haired boy and the girl from my Stats class. Even fucking better.

The girl turned and eyed me excitedly as I walked towards them.

"Edward, hey!" Mike said then looked at the other people at the table, two girls and another guy, "This is Chief Swan's nephew." I nodded in their directions as Mike listed their names off. Jessica was the girl from Stats, the greasy kid was named Eric, then there was Tyler, Lauren, and Angela-- a mousy looking brunette who briefly smiled at me before ducking her head back down to study the text in front of her.

I sat down next to her and Mike came to sit on my left, talking nonstop. I ignored him as much as possible, while still adding in bits to the conversation. Mike seemed to like telling the teacher thing a bit too much and as he laughed raucously about my rouse, for the twelfth time, I scanned the room.

There were all the same cliques I had seen back in Chicago, the jocks, nerds, drama geeks and then there was something I had never seen. At a table in the back corner sat a group of five kids. Actually, I wasn't really sure if they were kids. The two guys looked as though they should be in college. The big one with dark, curly hair struck me as a football player while the blonde guy to his right looked like more of a loner. There was a tiny, pixie like girl sitting next to him, her eyes glued to his face. Across from her was a petite brunette who was idly playing with a soda can in front of her. Next to her was a gorgeous blond girl. The big guy's arm was around the back of her chair in a very protective manner, though his face was relaxed and a goofy grin was spread across his cheeks.

"Who are they?" I finally asked Mike, interrupting the conversation he was having with Tyler.

He followed my line of vision, just in time for the petite brunette's gaze to dart up and catch mine. Her eyes were dark and she looked as though she hadn't slept in weeks. I held her gaze, unblinking, until Mike's voice caught my attention.

"Jasper and Rosalie Hale, they're the blond ones," he paused, "the huge one is Emmett, and his sisters Bella and Alice Cullen."

"They're..." I hesitated in saying beautiful.

"Freaks," Mike offered, bitterness clear in his tone, "Dr. and Mrs. Cullen adopted them all because apparently she can't have kids or something. Rosalie and Emmett are a thing and Jasper and Alice too."

"What about Bella?" I looked back up at her. Her gaze was once again on the soda can, her eyebrows knit in come sort of concentration.

"No one here is good enough for her." Mike snorted. I smirked, turning my head so he wouldn't notice. She must have turned him down. I shoved a piece of bread from my lunch tray in my mouth keeping my gaze on the plastic grain of the table. "Bella's staring at you."

I looked up at Mike's words to catch the girl's gaze again. She looked younger than the rest of them. As I stared at her, her gaze never wavering as most people's would, I realized she was even more beautiful than the blonde one. They were all attractive, even the guys, and I felt drawn to them.

"What's with the staring contest?" Mike asked. The bitterness had yet to leave his tone. "She never looks at anyone."

I dropped my eyes from Bella, heaving a sigh. "Maybe I make her uncomfortable."

"Yea, right," he snorted, "Bella Cullen, uncomfortable."

I shrugged. Mike's attention turned back to Tyler and I sought the girl out again. She wasn't looking at me any longer, instead her eyes were set intensely on the pixie-girl, Alice. Their lips weren't moving, but I felt certain that they were having a conversation. Suddenly, almost too quickly, Alice was standing, her movements perfect and fluid, her untouched tray was in her hands as she danced from the table. Her family didn't seem to notice. I glanced back to Bella, only for the blond girl, Rosalie, to catch my eyes. Where Bella's dark eyes had been curious, searching, Rosalie's were filled with hatred. What the hell? No sooner had her eyes caught mine, they ripped away and I noticed Bella stand angrily and gracefully storm away.

My eyes followed her as she left, returning to the group surrounding me only when she had disappeared from my line of sight. I reluctantly rejoined the conversation going on around me.

The bell rang to signal the end of lunch and I stood glancing down at my schedule again to remember where I was headed: biology. "What ya got now?" Mike was suddenly at my side.

"Biology with Mr..." I searched the paper again.

"Mr. Banner?" The mousy brunette asked.

"Yea, Angela right?"

She nodded. "I've got Mr. Banner this period too. I could show you where it's at, if you want."

She was hesitant, but not in the way most girls were around me. It wasn't that she was too busy staring at me flirtatiously. It was a nice change. "That would be great, thanks." She didn't say anything else while we walked to the classroom. It wasn't long before I noticed that both Tyler and Mike were a few feet behind us.

Mike raised an eyebrow at me, a gesture that I, surprisingly, found offensive. Rolling my eyes, I turned back just in time to walk into the classroom.

Mr. Banner's desk was at the back of the room, by the door we had just stepped through. He stood behind it sifting through papers as he mumbled to himself. "Mr. Banner," Angela said softly.

He looked up and his eyes shifted from Angela to me. "Ah, Mr. Masen," he moved a few more things on the desk before pulling a book from beneath a stack of papers that he had just placed there, "take the empty seat up there and I'll get a syllabus for you before class starts."

I watched the middle-aged man begin his search again. I snickered softly. At this rate it would take until the end of the semester to get my syllabus. Angela had taken her seat already and she motioned towards the lab table diagonal across the aisle from her. There was already a girl at the table, her back towards me. She sat close to the window, never once looking anywhere but at the empty board at the front of the room. I shifted my backpack to my other shoulder and went to join her. As soon as I pulled the chair out, I dared a glance at the girl.

_Bella Cullen_.

I smiled, dropping my book to the table, and my backpack to the floor.

Instead of greeting me, as most people had done when I looked at them, Bella's body tensed. Her shoulders rose beneath the curtain of her rich, mahogany hair and her hands were balled into fists on the desk. I turned to look at her, my eyebrows knit in confusion. She stared at me, her expression unreadable.

Her eyes weren't the deep brown I had thought they would be when I watched her across the lunchroom. They were black. Pitch black. The intensity I found there, caused me to involuntarily shudder. I turned back to the front of the room quickly, confused by her reaction. Did I have something on my face? I swiped a hand over my mouth, feeling for anything unusual and finding nothing. Mike would have said something anyways. I probably would never have lived it down. When Mr. Banner passed by, setting the syllabus he had found on the edge of the desk next to me, I turned my face into my shoulder, disguising the sniff of my shirt as simply watching Mr. Banner. There wasn't anything unusual to smell-- just the unfamiliar scent of Charlie's house. It hadn't smelled bad though.

I brought my elbow to the desk and tangled my hand through my hair, resting my forehead against the palm. What the fuck was her problem?

Sneaking a glance out of my peripheral, I realized Bella had scooted closer to the window. She had her hands locked together beneath the table and I could clearly make out the tendons straining underneath her pale, perfect skin. Her dark eyes flickered towards me, the gaze holding the same hatred that Rosalie had held for me earlier. For the first time since before I could remember, I found myself ducking my head in embarrassment that she had caught me staring at her. The blush that crept up my cheeks was even more shocking.

Bella seemed to tense even more. Her feet were wrapped around the legs of her chair, locked in place as if to hold her back.

I vaguely realized that Mr. Banner was speaking but found that I didn't really give a shit. The class droned on this way for another 40 minutes. My eyes searching for Bella only to find the intense hatred radiating from her body. I blushed each time she caught me staring and hoped that no one in the class was paying enough attention to me to notice. Mike was already annoying enough to have him start giving me shit for being a tomato. I hadn't heard that since I was in elementary school.

Before the bell had even sounded, Bella was out of her chair, quicker than Alice had been at lunch. She was out the door as the bell rang. I heaved a sigh, shutting my book, watching the door where the mahogany haired beauty had just been. Mike was beside me while I shrugged my bag over my shoulder and stood.

"That was weird," He said.

"What?" I asked, not wanting him to know that I had noticed Bella's reaction to me.

"Did you do something to Cullen?" I shook my head. "She's never acted like that before."

So I was some sort of weird exception. Nice. "Oh, I hadn't noticed."

Mike stifled a snort but walked with me through the door. I had Spanish next. He volunteered what class he was headed to and when I nodded, he stalked away. Compared to Biology, Spanish was dull. Bella's brother, the big one, Emmett was in this class with me. I noticed him shooting me a curious glance when I sat down, a couple rows away from him. When he knew I caught him looking, he grinned as though he was being nothing more than friendly. I shrugged it off and sat through the class.

It went by quickly and once the bell rang, I headed back to the office to return the sheet they had given me for the teachers to sign. As I slipped into the office, a flash of mahogany hair at the desk grabbed my attention.

"Isn't there anything? Physics, Anatomy?" Her voice was musical-- a gentle breeze with a hint of bells.

"No, I'm sorry," the same red-haired lady said, shooting me a look when the door sounded.

The door shut and Bella's lithe body stiffened. "I can see that it's impossible. I guess I'll just have to endure it." She turned from the desk and walked past me, as far from me as was possible in the small office.

I handed the slip of paper to the lady and then hurried from the office, anxious to get to Charlie's. A pang of hurt passed through my body as I thought of Bella and her animosity towards me. What had I done to offend her?

I almost ran to my truck across the parking lot, but slowed when I caught sight of mahogany hair. I looked over to see Bella and two of her siblings standing next to the Nova I had admired this morning. She stood next to the driver's side and disappeared into the car as her body stiffened, just as it had each time she was near me. It was _her_ car. Alice, who was at the passenger side, turned towards me, her gaze appearing sad. Just as quickly as I had seen it appear, it was gone as was the tiny girl it belonged to. She was shutting the door when Emmett and Rosalie were walking up. Emmett shot the remaining blonde boy, Jasper, a look as he hurried into the car. I was opening the truck as the blue Nova peeled out of the parking lot. I shook my head, turning the ignition and welcoming the rumbling of the truck's engine.

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**A/N: there's a picture of bella's "new" chevy on my profile, and also i'll be uploading the songs that coincide with each chapter as they're posted. for the most part, the titles are the only thing that i'm using, not the song content.**

**another reason i procrastinated, i've been reading _holding out for you_ by obsessingoveredward. if you haven't read it, check it out, it's amazing.  
**

**as usual, please, please, please READ AND RESPOND! **


	4. Chapter 3: He Lays in the Reins

**DISCLAIMER: i do not own anything. smeyer owns it all. lucky slag. (that is, except for the chapter titles, that belongs to iron and wine and calexico.)  
**

**and once again thanks to my wonderful beta, my (untidytowns) 333**

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**Chapter 3: He Lays in the Reins**

Once at the house, I busied myself with homework, a completely mindless task. Without the stimulation my mind had craved, I found images of Bella taking over. After fighting back thoughts of the mahogany haired beauty, to no avail, I finally shut my book and picked up my cell from where I'd left it on the desk. Flipping it open, I found a series of missed calls, all from my mother. I sighed and pressed the button to connect to my voicemail. I had forgotten to call her once I was in Forks. The messages started out with her worried tone but became irate as they ran on. I rolled my eyes at her, knowing that Charlie would have called her if I hadn't arrived. She was freaking out for no reason. I disconnected from my voicemail so I was able to call her.

She answered on the second ring. "Eddie! Oh, honey, I'm so glad to hear from you!" The smile was obvious in her voice, before it quickly dropped and her anger seeped through, "Why haven't you called me? I've been worried sick!"

Sighing, I launched into my tale about my trip. I included the fact that I got horrible reception in this hell hole and had completely given up on even trying to use the phone.

"You can call from Charlie's house phone. I'm sure he won't mind," she offered.

"I was kinda busy unpacking."

"Oh." The sadness that was in her voice shocked me. I was sure that both she and my father would be relieved that I was gone. He wouldn't have to worry about his clients finding out about his fuck up son and my mother wouldn't have to silence the gossip that surrounded me. "How was school? Did you make some friends?"

My mother was always pushing me to make friends. I wasn't the friending type. I preferred being a loner, that way I didn't have to deal with people starting shit. It was simpler. High school kids were always moronic anyways. "School was fine."

"And the kids?"

I rolled my eyes again, and heard my mother laugh, she knew me so well. "They're... nice. There's this guy, Mike, that won't leave me alone. He just doesn't know how to take a hint."

"What about the girls? Are there any pretty ones?"

I pondered on the idea of my mother really wanting me to have been a girl so we could discuss these types of things. "C'mon, Ma, really?"

She laughed. "Eddie, I'm your mother..."

"I know," I sighed, "I've gotta go, Ma, I've got homework."

"Alright. I love you."

"Love you too, Ma." She sounded as though she were crying, and I disconnected the phone call quickly. _This_ was their idea.

I finished my homework, then headed downstairs when I heard the cruiser pull into the driveway. Charlie stepped through the door and hung his gun belt up before removing his boots and leaving them by the door. He smiled at me when he saw me standing at the foot of the stairs.

"How was school?"

"Fine." He shuffled to the fridge. "Mike Newton seemed to know a lot about me."

He snorted as he pulled a beer from where it sat on the shelf. "That kid's a little shit."

I laughed. "I figured that."

Charlie sat down at one of the mismatched chairs at the dining room table. "I shouldn't have said that." He popped the beer open and took a long pull out of the can. I shrugged. He stared at me for a moment then said, "I'm really not sure how I'm supposed to do this."

"Do what?"

"Be a parent."

I shrugged again. What did he want me to say to that? Did I need to tell him he was doing a good job? Was I supposed to encourage him? He eyed me wearily, waiting for a response.

"My parents obviously didn't know how to either...." I finally offered.

He seemed surprised by my answer and took another long drink off his beer. I walked to the table and sat down opposite of him. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair as he cleared his throat. "Do you eat Chinese?" I nodded. "I figured we'd order some take out since I haven't gone to get groceries. I'm not much of a cook."

"Me either."

Charlie looked reassured that he wasn't the only incapable man now. "I can work a grill though."

I smiled as he grabbed a menu that was hanging on the fridge. He passed it to me before looking it over himself and writing down our orders to call them in.

While we waited, Charlie grabbed another beer, pausing at the fridge as if he were contemplating something, then said, "Do you want one?"

Shock covered my face and I wondered if he was testing me. When I looked up at him, his face was sincere. I nodded dumbly. "Sure?"

He laughed. "I'm not testing you." He gave me the can then headed to the living room. "I am taking your keys until the morning though," he called over his shoulder."

I popped the top on my own beer as I followed him into the living room. He once again settled down in his recliner while I sat on the couch. I sank down into the cushions and hesitated before finally resting my sock covered feet on the coffee table. Charlie had put on another football game and I mindlessly focused on the screen and drank my beer. By the time the doorbell rang, my beer was gone.

Charlie stood from his chair, stiffly, then headed to the door. He got our food and brought it back to the living room, setting it on the coffee table. He then went back into the kitchen and I heard a cabinet open and close before the fridge followed suit. When he walked back into the room, he handed me another beer, then went back to his seat.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"Now don't think this means you can help yourself," he added.

I shook my head. I had, of course, gone to parties while I was in Chicago, and I had drank before, but it never really interested me. Getting drunk just wasn't the thrill that people made it out to be.

We ate in silence again, both of us focused on the screen before us. As the game drew to a close, I looked over at Charlie contemplating whether I should ask him what I had been thinking of.

"Spit it out, Edward." The sound of his voice surprised me. I hadn't realized that he had noticed me staring.

"Do you know the Cullens?"

He once again surprised me, his eyes narrowing in anger before he said, "You, of all people, should know not to believe everything you hear."

I shook my head, my eyes widening at his response. "I didn't hear anything."

He heaved a sigh. "The Cullens are good people. Dr. Cullen could have gone anywhere and made a lot of fucking money, but instead he came here. And I've never had a problem with any of those kids... I figured that at least the oldest one, Emmett, would cause some trouble, but he hasn't."

"They seemed nice," I offered, trying to emphasize that I had no issue with them. Apparently Bella had the issue with _me_.

"Sorry, I just get tired hearing all the shit that people have to say about them," Charlie smiled half-heartedly, "small towns want gossip and the Cullens tend to keep to themselves so they became the targets." He chuckled. "It doesn't help that half the women in this town find Carlisle so attractive."

So it wasn't just the kids.

I nodded. "I have a class with Emmett and one with Bella."

"It'd be nice if you spoke with them, they don't have friends outside of their siblings."

It suddenly hit me that my mom and Charlie had most definitely come from the same family. I snickered softly. He glanced over at me, but didn't say anything. I finished my beer off before standing and stretching. It was already 9:30 P.M. and I still had to shower before bed. I cleared my paper plate and empty Chinese containers off the coffee table, tossing them in the garbage in the kitchen.

Charlie had followed and was standing behind me, running a hand through his thinning hair. "I wasn't trying to sound pushy."

"I know."

"Beth just told me you didn't have many friends in Chicago and I kind of hoped that you could make some here..." his voice trailed off and he smiled, "then maybe Forks wouldn't be so much like Hell anymore."

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. What the fuck? Why was I so ashamed that Charlie knew how I felt about Forks?

Ducking my head, I offered a quick, "Night."

I headed upstairs and straight into the bathroom. I hurried through my shower, not enjoying the hot water pounding against my muscles as I usually did. I just wanted to get to bed. I wanted to shut my mind off and not think about anything that had happened today. When I was done shaving, I wrapped a towel around my waist and went into my room. I pulled on my sleep pants then ran the towel over my hair again. I hung the towel on the doorknob, so I wouldn't forget to put it back in the bathroom in the morning, and settled into the bed.

The rain outside had picked up in the short time it took me to shower and instead of lulling me to sleep as it had the night before, I found myself listening as the drops cascaded down onto the roof. I was suddenly very aware of the trees in the woods surrounding the house, creaking as they moved in the wind. I stuffed the other pillow over my ear and concentrated on sleep. The attempt failed and instead I listened to the sounds of Charlie shuffling around the house as he got ready for bed. When his bedroom door creaked shut, any thoughts I had of sleep perished.

My mind was suddenly filled with images of Bella. Her dark eyes boring holes into mine. The feel of her gaze upon me, her hands balled into fists beneath the lab table. Her mahogany hair sliding through my fingers, like silk, as I pulled her face close and captured her lips between mine. My breath hitched in my throat and I realized that my thoughts had gone straight to my groin. I groaned softly, fighting the urge I had to touch myself.

What was it about this girl? She obviously wanted nothing to do with me, yet here I was imagining what it would be like to have her mouth around my... I ended the thought as abruptly as it had come on. I did _not_ need to think about that. That would not be conducive to sitting next to her in Biology the rest of the year. I shifted how I was laying, adjusting myself so I wasn't too uncomfortable. After a while, once I had run the entire Spanish alphabet and a few forms of conjugation through my head, my erection was gone. I sighed heavily and closed my eyes, finally drifting into a fitful sleep.

I awoke to the sound of the cruiser starting up. I peeked out the window just as the car disappeared from sight. It was 7:10 A.M. I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, I hadn't really even slept through the night. I stood and stretched, then went to the bathroom and got ready. I went downstairs, still in my sleep pants, and ate a bowl of cereal before going back upstairs to change. I didn't bother to pay attention to the shirt I pulled from the dresser drawer until the soft, gray thermal material was covering my body. I pulled a pair of boxer briefs out and slipped those on followed by the jeans I had worn the day before. I glanced at the clock again before heading downstairs only to see it was just 7:35.

I considered heading to the school and sitting in the truck before class, but instead I sat back down at the table. I wasn't going to show up until school started at 8:15. Fuck that. There was no way in hell that I was going to sit there and wait for Bella Cullen to drive up in her perfect fucking car and shoot daggers at me with her gorgeous, dark eyes. I wasn't going to let this girl get to me. I couldn't.

When I realized that it was impossible to not think about her as I was going to sleep, I decided that I was going to confront her about her issues in Biology today. If that didn't pan out, then I was determined to speak to her brother and find out what the fuck her problem was. He had, at least, seemed friendly in Spanish. Then again maybe he was just as much a dick as she was a bitch. Fuck I hated this town.

Only ten minutes had passed since I sat down, but I stood up and headed out to my truck anyway. Maybe I could go look around the library or something before class.

I pulled into the parking lot, turning into a spot next to the bitch's beautiful Nova. If I was going to have to face her anyway, I might as well have some fun with it. I smirked at the thought, throwing the truck into park. I was a glutton for punishment. Instead of finding Bella standing with her siblings that were still surrounding the front of the car, I found only the four of them. Alice was standing in front of Jasper, his arms wrapped around her waist and his face buried next to her ear, a grin spreading across her face at whatever he was whispering. Emmett had Rosalie pressed against the hood of the car, and they appeared to be eating one another's faces off. I growled in realization that Bella was already in the building. I stalked away, forgetting about the library entirely and going to my first class.

Mike once again rambled on next to me before Mr. Mason stood and went over the papers that were due on Friday. I found it incredibly easy to block out Mike's annoying voice throughout the day as he met up with me between classes. Apparently he thought we were B.. This only caused the anger I was suppressing to rise.

By lunch, I was ready to strangle the stupid shit. I went through the lunch line quickly, grabbing the first thing I laid my eyes one, which happened to be some sort of mystery meat sandwich. There was no way in _hell_ I was eating this. Mike was still speaking and as I sat down at the table, next to Angela, I fought the urge to yell at him. Thankfully, Eric and Tyler entertained him and I was able to sit there and enjoy Angela's quiet company.

When no one was paying attention to me, I scanned the room for the Cullens and Hales only to see that there were still just four of them. Where the hell was Bella?

"She's not here," Angela offered softly.

I considered playing dumb and asking who, but decided that Angela wasn't going to judge me, she was just being kind. "Oh."

"She's in my P.E. class, and she wasn't there this morning," she explained.

I sighed heavily, and spent the rest of lunch picking at the sandwich I hadn't touched. I felt someones gaze upon me and I looked up anxiously, hoping that the mahogany haired beauty had suddenly appeared. Instead I found Jessica blatantly staring at me as she twirled a lollipop between her lips. Someone's a slut. When she noticed me looking up, she winked at me, her tongue darting out to flick across the pink candy.

I shuddered and looked away in disgust. Angela let out a soft giggle beside me. "She's been in need of fresh meat." I raised an eyebrow at the petite girl to my right. "She's already been through everyone at the table, plus half the swim team, though Mike would happily take her back."

I snickered. Go figure Mike would be attracted to her. I glanced up at Jessica again only to find her glaring at Angela. Angela didn't seem to notice, so I didn't bring it to her attention. If she considered Jessica her friend, who was I to disband her beliefs? Just in time, the bell sounded signaling the end of lunch. I walked with Angela to Biology, completely ignoring Mike and Tyler's crudeness behind us. My 'friendship' with Angela, if that's what it was, was drawing teasing from the group that I had been adopted into. I wondered if Mike had asked me about it earlier while I had been ignoring him. Poor Angela's cheeks flooded and I felt sympathy for the quiet girl.

I turned sharply on my heel, my anger at everything finally taking control. "You guys need to shut the fuck up," I snapped.

They stopped abruptly, taking in the anger that I knew was flashing in my eyes. "Sorry, man, we're just messing with you," Mike said sheepishly.

"Well, it's not funny. Just shut the fuck up about it, alright?"

They nodded dumbly. I turned back around, walking into the classroom where Angela was already seated. She flashed me an appreciative smile, and I nodded my head in her direction. Angela didn't deserve to be treated like that by her friends.

I held my breath until the bell rang, waiting for Bella to magically appear. She didn't. Instead I sat through the movie that Mr. Banner had put on while the anger boiled inside of me. Did she really hate me enough to skip school? She didn't even know me. How could I have done that to her? And why, _in the hell_, did I find myself so drawn to her?

I tangled a hand in my hair and pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger. How could such a small girl be so goddamn irritating?

Surpassing my anger, I considered what I would say to Emmett next period. When the bell rang, I still hadn't thought of anything. If I went in with guns blazing automatically, I could only imagine what the guy could do to me. He struck me as someone who wouldn't take shit, especially if I'm questioning him about his sister. I hurried from Biology, making sure that Mike wasn't following me. I slid into my desk in Spanish, before Emmett had entered the classroom. There were a few other kids sitting a couple rows away and I considered backing down. But when Emmett came through the door, I found my anger once again pulsing through me.

"What the fuck is your sister's problem?" I hissed as he walked down the aisle passed me.

"Excuse me?" His voice was nothing like the gruffness I had expected to hear coming from him. It was smooth, velvety.

"I said," I inhaled quickly, gathering my nerves as I turned to face this grizzly of a boy, "what the fuck is your sister's problem?"

Emmett's hands clenched into fists on the desk, and I watched the muscles tighten in his arms. I was about to get my ass handed to me. I brought my eyes up to meet his, shocked to find the light amber color there. His eyes had looked just as black as Bella's the day before. "You'll have to be more specific, I have two of them," he stated calmly, though his jaw remained set rigidly and his muscles were just as tense.

"Bella," I said harshly, as if it were obvious, "I didn't say one word to her yesterday and she sat there glaring at me the entire fucking time. Now she doesn't even have the balls to come to school today."

If Emmett could become anymore tense, he did. He was suddenly stone and I watched his face flicker from confusion to the angry void he was trying to maintain. "She's sick," he stated lamely.

"And I'm motherfucking U Thant." I shook my head and turned back around to the front of the room. "Maybe next time you should try to lie a little better."

Before he had a chance to retort, class started. I'm surprised that I actually made it through class alive. When class ended, Emmett was still sitting there as I rose from my seat. He looked up at me, looking rather sheepish, and opened his mouth to say something. He shut it quickly, shaking his head, before standing and rushing from the room.

Maybe Mike had been right. Maybe they all were just freaks.

I went to my locker, grabbing a few books before heading to my truck. As I walked passed the Cullens, I found both Emmett and Alice staring at me. Rosalie seemed to be speaking quickly to Emmett, her lips barely moving. She shot me a glare, having followed his gaze, then opened the driver's door and slid in, starting the car and revving the engine. The three remaining siblings climbed into the car just in time for Rosalie to peel out much like Bella had yesterday.

I tossed my backpack into the bed of the truck, not worried about the light drizzle of rain that was falling, and climbed into the cab. Bella couldn't be out of school for too long. I was just going to have to wait patiently for her to come back. When she did, I would confront her. I obviously wasn't going to get anywhere with harassing Emmett, and I definitely didn't want to get my ass kicked.

My only option was to wait. No matter how long it took. I was going to figure Bella Cullen out, regardless of the consequences.

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**AN: i apologize for not responding to everybody's reviews, but just know that they make me super happy and i love reading them, so thank you all for reviewing!**

**also, i had someone express interest in seeing things from both edward's and bella's perspective. i'd like to hear what you guys have to say about it.... i was intending to keep it through edward's perspective and then maybe write some outtakes through bella's, but i'd like your feedback on it. SO PLEASE, REVIEW! it's like crack reading them. **


	5. Chapter 4: Teeth in the Grass

**DISCLAIMER:** i do not own anything, smeyers is the lucky bitch who does.

iron and wine owns the rights to the songs and therefore the chapter titles.

i apologize for the lack of update for god knows how long, real life has been kicking my ass all over the place. yay work and stupid boys! but to keep things short, thanks to my betas, as always, my lovely, and shefflyn frances whom i both love dearly.

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CHAPTER 4: TEETH IN THE GRASS

The week wore on and still no Bella. Mike invited me to a movie in Port Angeles and I quickly refused. It was one thing sitting with him at lunch and allowing him to follow me through the halls. There was no way in hell that I was going to push his beliefs of our friendship further. Instead, I stayed in doing laundry, catching up on homework, and getting my room to look homier. My mother had sent a few things upon my request and I was anxious to get them onto the walls. What I truly wished she was able to send me, was my piano. Thankfully Forks High did have a piano, but it was nowhere near my Steinway Parlor Grand in Chicago.

Charlie had signed me up for the music class as my elective, which I was thankful for, but we stuck to a strict lesson plan and I had no time to sit down and just play. I had entertained the idea of asking my mother to ship it, only after speaking with Charlie, and quickly decided against it. Charlie had agreed that we could make room for it, but I refused to be turned down by my mother. It was already bad enough that I was here.

I woke Saturday morning to the sound of the doorbell and waited a few minutes before it rang again. Why the fuck wasn't Charlie answering it?

I stood, stretching, and glancing out the window finding a truck backed into the driveway, where the cruiser usually sat, and the door to the moving truck was opened. Charlie hadn't mentioned that there was something being delivered. I tugged on the shirt that I had worn yesterday and headed downstairs. Just as I opened the door, a guy in a uniform was turning away from the door.

"Do I need to sign for something?" I asked, catching his attention.

He eyed me for a moment then said, "Is Chief Swan here?"

I shook my head. "I'm his nephew; can I help you with something?" What the hell was this guy's problem?

"I, uh," the guy pulled a clipboard out and flipped through a few things before settling on a page and passing it to me with a pen, "need you to sign for this."

I glanced over the paper, skimming it quickly as I scrawled my signature at the bottom. "What is it?"

He took the paperwork back, initialing after my name. "A piano."

What. The. Fuck.

Just as the two guys were beginning to pull the instrument from the truck, I saw the cruiser pull in behind my truck. Charlie smiled at me as he shut the car door, hurrying up to greet me.

"Damn. I was hoping I would be back before they delivered it."

I stared at him, my mouth hanging open. "Why?"

He chuckled. "I figured if you couldn't ask Beth, I could," he shrugged, "Maybe it'll help you settle in."

The urge to wrap my arms around my uncle rushed fleetingly through my mind. Just when I decided to do so, the moving men were in front of us. I backed through the door and out of their way into the kitchen. Charlie showed the men where to leave it and then before I knew it, they were gone.

"I'm sure you're going to need to get it tuned." His voice startled me and I looked up at him, wiping away the tears that had escaped my eyes. Christ I was a fucking pussy.

I nodded, not trusting my voice. Charlie watched me hesitantly for a moment then went about making coffee. I stood there silently watching him until the coffee was finished brewing.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"Yep," Charlie returned with his usual nod.

I ran a hand through my hair, as Charlie did the same. When we caught ourselves, we both laughed. This was nice. I had never formed a relationship remotely close to this with my own father. My father was always too busy working to bother with me. My laughing died down but I couldn't manage to suppress the grin aimed at my uncle. He returned the smile then turned his back and focused on the coffee.

I took the opportunity he gave me and shuffled into the living room where my piano sat. Over half the living room was swallowed by the pristine black varnish of my Steinway. I ran my hand over the body of the piano as I walked to where the bench sat beneath the keys. I opened the cover, lightly running my fingers over the cool ivory keys. I used my foot to pull the bench out in order to sit down. I rested my right thumb on middle C, allowing my other fingers to fall into their places alongside. My mind raced through the pieces I knew by heart before I settled on 'Mazurka in A minor' by Chopin.

My fingers flew over the keys and when the song drew to a close, I realized Charlie was standing in the kitchen doorway, watching me intensely.

"Wow," he said, setting his coffee mug down and clapping lightly.

I once again felt the absurd blush flood my cheeks. Why was I embarrassed? I had played for audiences multiple times in Chicago, but something about Charlie applauding me made me feel awkward.

"Thanks," I mumbled again, "you don't have to do that."

"I know..."

I nodded. "I play a lot, so I don't want you to feel like you have to praise me each time."

Charlie eyed me for a moment before nodding and returning to the kitchen. I heard him settle in at the table, probably with the paper, and continued running through my internal catalogue of sheet music. I spent the majority of the afternoon playing piano, while Charlie sat silently in the kitchen listening. He eventually interrupted me to tell me he was running to the 'Thriftway ,', the only grocery store in town, to pick up some things for the week. I continued playing while he was gone, completely ignoring the growling in my stomach. I had been so caught up in my piano; I had forgotten that I hadn't eaten all day. Charlie came home and threw some steaks on the grill, while I managed to put a couple potatoes into the oven to bake. While everything cooked, I tossed a load of laundry into the washer so I wouldn't have to waste my time on it tomorrow. Charlie had said it was supposed to be nice out and I didn't want to have to stay inside all day.

We ate dinner in silence, proud that we had conquered the feat of cooking. If we lived off of steak and potatoes for the rest of the time I was here, I would be perfectly content. It was a slight ego-trip to feel so accomplished by something so small.

I did the dishes and moved my clothes to the dryer while Charlie moved a couple things in the living room around so we were able to make room for my piano. When I joined him from the kitchen, I was surprised to find the coffee table resting alongside his recliner while the piano had become the centerpiece to the room. It wasn't huge, just over 6 feet, and I was just thankful that Charlie's T.V. was mounted on the wall. I settled down on the couch and watched a bit of the game that he had put on until the dryer buzzed.

Grabbing my laundry, I headed up to my room. It wouldn't hurt to get some homework done tonight. I had already done the Stats homework last night and I had a quarter of my paper on The Yellow Wallpaper written. It wasn't due until Wednesday, but fuck if I wanted to wait until the last minute. I'd just get it done.

It didn't take long to finish and when I was done, I grabbed my sleep pants and headed in to shower. Just as I opened the door to my bedroom, Charlie was stepping out of the bathroom.

"G'night," he muttered as he passed me.

I paused in the bathroom doorway, debating on whether or not I should say anything. Finally I decided that silence wasn't always the answer.

"Thank you, Charlie."

He hesitated in his own doorway, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. Was it really _that_ hard for him to accept appreciation? "You don't need to thank me, Edward."

I shook my head. "Yes, I do," I sighed, he was just going to have to deal with it, "Thank you for getting my piano, for getting me a car, and for taking me in without a second thought."

Despite himself, he snorted. "I never said it was without a second thought..."

Of course he would turn this around. "Just accept the goddamn thanks." This time, he outright laughed. "What the fuck is so funny? I'm trying to be sincere and you're fucking laughing at me?"

His laughter died out and he looked up at me, the smile he wore causing the corners of his brown eyes to crinkle. He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck before saying, "You're welcome."

With that, he disappeared into his room.

I stared at the door briefly before slamming the bathroom door shut behind me.

Sunday crept by. The good weather that Charlie had promised would be here wasn't. So I stayed inside and played piano all afternoon. I was once again gathering my legs in composition. It felt amazing.

I awoke Monday feeling anxious. Charlie was still there when I left, he had mumbled something about Mondays being slow at work. Forks P.D. actually had busy days? Huh. In my anxiousness, I arrived at school nearly 40 minutes early. There were a few cars in the parking lot, but most were faculty. I groaned realizing that in my determination that Bella would be in school today, I had only succeeded in being even more of a pussy. Instead of sitting in the cab, I got out and went around to the bed, I pulled the tailgate down and sat on that, pulling out my Stats homework and going over my answers.

By the time I had gone through them all, reworking a few just to make sure they were right, the parking lot was full. If I didn't hurry I was going to be late. I saw Bella's car and realized that being so caught up in my own shit, I had missed whether she had been the one driving today. Fuck. I'd just wait until lunch. I jogged to English, feeling even more like a dumbass as I did. Mike was rambling on about some date he and Jessica had gone on over the weekend. As I slid into my seat, just as the bell was ringing, he grinned at me.

"Jess is fucking amazing," He stage-whispered.

I rolled my eyes, not wanting to hear why. "You get lucky?"

He grinned, shaking his head. "She's not _that_ easy."

I held back the laughter that wanted to spill from my lips. He didn't catch it and continued on about how they made out in the back of his car before he dropped her off at home. How fucking cheesy could you get? If the moron actually fucked her in the backseat… God. I shook the thought from my head and focused on Mr. Mason .

Mike didn't shut up all the way to the gym. I fought the urge to punch him, just to make him shut his mouth, only suppressing it as Tyler joined him in the locker room. I figured that since Mike had been raving about their date, that Jessica would leave me the hell alone in Stats. Instead, she leaned her forearms on her desk, pushing her tits up as much as possible. She even had her mechanical pencil between her lips, chewing on the eraser. Did she really think that was attractive? Or did she just think _I_ was that shallow? I hoped it was the former. My eyes remained focused on the board; I did not satisfy her with anymore glances in her direction. How could Mike not realize she was an easy whore?

The bell finally rang, and I hurried to my music class. Even if I had to play the shit the teacher wanted us to, at least no one in the class begged for my attention. It was a great 45 minutes before lunch. I flirted with the idea of ducking into the library for lunch. It wasn't as if I ate anyway. But if I did that, then I wouldn't know if Bella was here. My heart rate quickened at the thought of ducking out on _her_.

_Fucking pussy. She won't even notice if you're gone._

I sighed and slowed my pace, my anxiety to get to the lunchroom dissipating. Even if she was there, it wasn't as if I was going to confront her in front of her family. I wouldn't doubt that Emmett would kick my ass after listening to all the things I wanted to say to her. I shrugged my backpack off my shoulder as I slid into the seat between Mike and Angela. She smiled at me then buried her face back into the photography book she held. Jessica's attention flew to me, instead of where it should have remained with Mike, who had his arm slung around the back of her chair. She winked at me and I had to fight the urge to shudder.

Mike didn't seem to notice as he continued his conversation. I rifled through my bag, pulling my water bottle out. I told myself it wasn't so I looked busy—but it was. I was forcing myself not to look in the direction of the Cullen/Hale table. I managed a few minutes until the cap to my bottle rolled onto the floor, instead of following it my eyes rose to scan the room, my heart skipping a beat or two while I searched. Once again only four people sat at the table. The blond bitch caught my eyes again and the way her lip rose over her teeth, I could swear that she had growled at me. I held her gold gaze until Emmett leaned towards her and placed his lips against her neck. I shook my head, bringing my focus back to the table I sat at.

"She was in class earlier," Angela offered quietly, her eyes never leaving the text before her.

"Oh?" I glanced down at the floor, the cap I'd lost suddenly piquing my interest.

"Maybe she's still not feeling good and left early?"

"I don't care," I bent down grabbing the white plastic cap in my fingers and bringing it back to the table, "Bio's better off when I don't have someone deciding the best way to murder me with their eyes."

Angela snickered. I don't think I'd ever heard her laugh before. "I doubt that's why she was doing," she finally looked up, her dark eyes sparkling with amusement, "she probably just started getting sick."

"Yea, maybe." She shook her head assuming my reluctance was unfounded. I wasn't going to tell her that Bella had been ready to rip Ms Cope's throat out when she wouldn't take her out of Bio. I remembered her black eyes burning as she stormed past me that day. Those eyes had yet to leave my mind since that day. The desire I felt each time I envisioned them confused the hell out of me. I had never thought myself a masochist.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, catching Angela as she stood behind me. I glanced around seeing she was the only one still at our table with me, it made me wonder how long she had been calling me. She didn't say anything as I grabbed my bag, shouldering it, and shuffling after her. My interest in getting to Bio had depleted since I realized _she_ wouldn't be there.

I hadn't even realized we'd gotten to the class until Angela stopped in the doorway. I nearly plowed into her, but she stepped aside just I managed to stop.

"What the fuck, Ang?" I asked, irritation seeping into my tone.

Instead of the shocked look I expected from the petite girl, she smirked at me, nodding towards my desk. It was as my eyes found Bella Cullen sitting in the seat that had been vacant since class on Wednesday; I realized that Angela Weber's smirk was a fucking dangerous thing.

Rolling my eyes, I bumped Angela out of the way with my hip and stepped into the room. I dropped my bag onto the table, the textbooks inside causing a loud 'THUNK' to resonate through the room. Bella didn't even blink.

I sat down with a sigh, slouching on the stool as I ran a hand through my hair. I stared at the board, ignoring the urge I had to stare at her.

I felt a shift next to me, and brought my eyes to meet her. They weren't black; they were now the same light gold color that had stared at me from across the lunch room.

"Hello, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself last week, I'm Bella Cullen." I was so mesmerized by her eyes that her melodic voice startled me. I nodded stupidly. Of course I knew who she was. "And you're Edward Masen?"

"Why the hell do you care?" I bit back. Her sudden interest in me was something I hadn't been ready for. I was ready for the indifference. I was ready to yell at her for being such a bitch. What I didn't like was the intense curiosity that was shining in her golden eyes.

She shrugged. It seemed forced, almost as if she was feigning a knee-jerk reaction. She shifted her mahogany hair over her shoulder, sending a strange, sickeningly sweet strawberry scent in my direction. I took a deep breath, inhaling the flavor of her and savoring it.

"I apologize for being incredibly rude," she offered a small smile, her lips twitching upwards, mesmerizing me.

As she waited for my reply, one which I was not sure I had to give, Mr. Banner stepped to the front of the class and began explaining the point of the microscopes that sat on the lab tables. Something to do with onion root and mitosis. I had already done this in Chicago, so I pushed the 'scope towards Bella.

"Ladies first," I mumbled.

She placed her eye onto the eyepiece, before a breathy sound escaped her lips and she began to fill in the first blank on the paper. My eyes remained on her lips even as she returned the microscope back to me. It didn't even register that her lips were moving.

I was startled back into awareness when I felt a pulse of surprisingly cold, yet electrifying shock on my arm. Bella's fingers pulled away, as if she had felt it too. I shook my head, clearing the thought away. What the fuck was going on with me?

"Anaphase," she whispered, the bell tone in her voice barely registering in my muddled head.

"What about it?"

"The slide," she motioned to the microscope, "you can check it if you want."

Instead of checking it, I just replaced the slide. "Prophase." She wrote it into the next blank, her beautiful, flowing script looking as though it came straight off an Emily Bronte manuscript. "You were sick?"

Her gold eyes danced with amusement. "I guess you could say that."

"What would you say then?" I pressed, watching her deftly switch out slides and write the next thing into a blank.

"I took a long weekend." She smiled. Her smile was brilliant. It could light up a room.

"Did you get contacts?" I asked quickly before I followed the urge to lean forward and press my lips to hers.

"No, I, uh," the microscope was suddenly back in front of her, "Interphase."

She penned it into the next blank, remaining focused on the paper. I snagged the thing back and rattled off the next three answers. The rest of the class was still working by the time we finished and Bella busied herself by writing our names at the top of the paper.

"So your mom is Chief Swan's sister?" she asked casually as she set the pen down on the table.

I realized, for the first time since we had arrived in class that she was as far away from me as she could get. The stool she was sitting on was pressed back to the wall and she had her hands folded neatly in her lap. I watched her hands, waiting for the inevitable fidget that would normally come, but nothing did.

"It would seem that way."

Bella's hands finally moved, one pulling swiftly to her face to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear while the other fell against her lips. I watched in awe as she worried her lower lip with her thumb and forefinger—and again it seemed extremely forced.

"Do you enjoy Forks?"

I snorted out a laugh. "What the fuck is there enjoyable about this place?"

She seemed a bit taken aback. "It would just seem that to move here, you would need a definitive reason."

"Did you have one?" It would seem? Maybe this girl did come out of some Emily Bronte novel.

"Carlisle was offered a position at the hospital;" her lips curved upwards, "now what reason have you?"

"What reason have I?" I couldn't hold back the laughter. "This isn't the fucking 1800's, Bella," she blinked; I couldn't remember seeing her blink since I had sat down. "My parents said shape up or ship out."

"You shipped out…?"

I turned my crooked grin on her, expecting this confident girl to be flustered into a puddle. "This was an alternative. I don't have to shape up, and if I keep on track in school, then I'm not shipping out."

She nodded, though I still got the feeling she didn't quite catch on.

"Miss Cullen, I certainly hope that you let Mr. Masen help with this assignment," Mr. Banner's voice startled me, but appeared to have no affect on Bella. She simply turned her face and flashed a smile, her lips never pulling back over her teeth.

"He answered the majority, Mr. Banner," she stated softly.

Mr. Banner shook his head; apparently I wasn't the only one who Bella muddled. He mumbled something and strode away, pausing at Mike's table where he and Tyler were struggling.

"That's not fair, y'know," I said, turning my attention back to the notebook that sat open before me. I had been doodling the entire time I wasn't looking in the microscope.

"I beg your pardon?" Bella was busying herself with the slides, slipping them back into the box, with the precision that could be expected from a machine.

"Fluttering your goddamned eyelashes and dazzling idiots like Mr. Banner. There are laws against teacher student relationships." I flashed another crooked grin, my eyes never leaving the paper in front of me. Instead of hearing a reply ring out in her bell tone, her body stiffened and her hands balled into fists. I didn't dare to move my gaze up to hers in fear that I would once again find the resentfulness in her golden eyes.

Minutes passed where neither of us spoke. Finally, as Mr. Banner was gathering the papers, I glanced up from my doodles and turned to her. "Look, Bella, I'm sorry, that was…"

"Inappropriate?" She bit back.

"A dumbass thing to say," I returned, watching the gold flecks in her eyes wax and wane with her anger. She was seething.

She said nothing and disappeared from the room just as she had on the first day, even before the bell was through ringing. I sighed, glancing down at my notebook only to find the pair of eyes I had just stared at, staring back at me.

Fuckin' Bella Cullen.


	6. Chapter 5: Big Burned Hand

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OTHER THAN THAN TED AND MAYHAPS A FEW OTHER OCs.

yes, i am full of fail. nearly a year without updating. what can i say, a lot has happened. i spent a good portion of last year staying with my sister who's husband had just passed away. my mind was no where near in the set to write. aside from that, i've been busy the past couple months with a very good friend who's been going through a lot. thankfully both of them are doing well at the present... or as well as well can be and i'm finally posting. i haven't forgotten this story and i hope that some of you will stick with me. sorry for slacking.

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**CHAPTER 5: BIG BURNED HAND**

The Cullens were already at school when I got there the next morning. I was running behind since Charlie had wanted to help me put chains on my tires. Apparently the snow that had fallen the night before had melted and turned into fuckin' ice. There was no way I was risking hitting black ice in this truck. If I lost this piece of shit, I wasn't getting another. Old Bessie was just going to have to do.

I stepped out of the cab, somehow managing to slip as I did. I caught myself from the inevitable face plant grasping the side of the bed.

"Shit," I muttered. I glanced up to see Bella Cullen laughing. Of course the bitch had seen me. Her siblings were merely watching her. She was entrancing—her head tilted back exposing the pale, creamy skin of her throat to me. Her hair fell in luxurious waves where it cascaded down her back. My mouth watered at the sight and I felt my pants tighten. Fuck.

I turned quickly, needing to adjust myself before I had to go inside. It was then that I heard the sound of tires squealing against the ice (it was a sound I had grown familiar with when I had wrecked my Volvo.) I turned to see where it was coming from only to be pushed to the ground by something solid and freezing. The smell of strawberries assaulted my senses while a curtain of brown hair shielded my face. Bella?

I focused my eyes catching the terrified look in her wide, golden eyes. Her arm was stretched out to the side, shoved above the wheel well of a van that was now baring a perfect mold of her five fingers.

The first thing I heard was her bell-like voice frantically asking, "Edward, are you alright?" It sounded like she added softly, "I don't smell any blood."

"What the fuck just happened?" I forced myself away from the freezing concrete, and Bella shifted so she was sitting next to me. "Where the hell did you come from?"

"I take it you aren't injured?" I shook my head. "Tyler lost control, his tires locked up." She paused, why wasn't she answering my question? "Someone called 911, they're on their way."

I groaned, leaning my head back against the truck and closing my eyes.

"Edward!" Her voice was frantic again.

"I don't need 911 and stop freaking out, I'm fine," I raised an eyebrow at her, "What, now all of a sudden you give a shit about me?"

"No one deserves to die at seventeen," She murmured almost too softly for me to hear. "Besides, they're going to have to move the van anyways."

Glancing around I realized that it was curled around us, smashed against the cab and bed of my truck.

"What are you, fucking Superwoman?" Her eyes widened and I'm sure a blush should have been covering her cheeks. "You were across the parking lot, Bella, the van is perfectly molded to you… What the hell did you do?"

"I was walking over to you," She offered meekly.

As if on her cue, the van began to move away from us to reveal firemen, a crowd of students, and Charlie. He surged forward, pulling me into a fierce hug as Bella laughed.

"You shouldn't move him, Chief," one of the firemen called.

"I'm fine," I returned, looking over Charlie's shoulder to see the stretcher waiting, "I don't need that goddamn thing."

"Like hell you don't," Charlie shot back. He released me from his grasp and allowed the firemen to move forward.

"Edward took the brunt of it," Bella said when the paramedic tried to get her onto a stretcher.

"She at least needs to be checked!" I shouted to them as I was being wheeled away. I could almost hear her golden eyes roll back in her head.

"I think Edward's right, Miss Cullen," I heard Charlie say, "I don't think Carlisle would approve if I let you get away without being checked out."

The bitch fucking laughed again. Maybe she did have a fucking concussion. I don't know how I had managed to ignore the sounds that were now bursting from the crowd surrounding us, but there was something about Bella being so close to me that seemed to turn all my other senses off. I saw her get into the front of the ambulance before they pushed me into the back. Charlie stood at the foot of the stretcher as the paramedic climbed in next to me.

"Why in the hell does she get to ride shotgun while I'm getting probed?" I asked.

The grin that covered my uncle's face made me want to smack the 70's pornstache right off. "When your father's the chief of medicine at the hospital, then we can have this conversation," he shook his head at me, "I'll be following in the cruiser, don't give Ted a hard time, alright, kid?"

With that, the ambulance doors were slammed shut and I was left staring at the dude who sat next to me and was commencing to feel me up. Ok, so he wasn't feeling me up per say, but he was making me incredibly uncomfortable. His gloved hand was perusing my scalp, searching for a laceration or bump that I knew was nowhere to be found. Bella was the one that should have been laying here. She was the one that probably had the bump. I could hear her lilting laughter as she spoke with the driver. Apparently the story he was telling her about his kid and their dog was abso-fucking-lutely hilarious. The Ted dude smirked. He had his hand down my shirt, granted he was holding a stethoscope, and the man had the gall to smirk.

"Is there something funny about my heartbeat?"

He glanced up at me, his smirk fading into a smile. "Nothing irregular," his head nodded up towards the front of the ambulance, "They never get easier with age, kid." I raised my eyebrow at him. "Girlfriends."

"She's not my fucking girlfriend." I said with vehemence.

He held up his hands, backing away as he pulled the stethoscope from his ears and placed it like a snake around his neck. "Damn, when the chief said you were gonna be pissed…"

"What, you didn't realized that pissed meant pissed?" I asked sarcastically.

Thankfully the vehicle came to a stop and Ted stood up. He waited as the driver came around to the back and opened the doors, helping him ease the stretcher onto the waiting pavement. I caught sight of Bella's hair as she stole away through the emergency room doors. "Fucking cunt," I grumbled. I heard Ted snicker while he released the brake and the bed began to move.

They wheeled me back to a section quartered off by curtains that had cartoonish animals and letters on them. Did they think that pretty colors would be soothing or some shit? Almost as soon as I had been moved from the stretcher onto the bed, with little help from Ted whom I had refused assistance from, Charlie appeared at my bedside. The image of him standing in front of those curtains was enough to make me laugh. The juxtaposition of his "macho" uniform amongst the bright colors was just too entertaining not to laugh regardless of how pissed I was.

"You look fucking ridiculous," I stuttered out between laughs.

"You don't look too smart yourself there, kid," he chuckled back. He sat down in the seat by the foot of the bed. "I called your mom."

I groaned. Why in the fuck would he do that? "Is she on her way yet?" He shook his head. "Good. Don't let her fly out here for no reason."

"I told her you were fine and you would give her a call when you get out of here." He fidgeted with the watch on his wrist, showing me just how uncomfortable he was. "I guess school's a no go today."

"I can go back as soon as the doc checks me out. I'm not hurt, Charlie."

"We'll let Dr. Cullen decide that."

I turned my attention to the flurry of excitement that was taking place in the curtain across from me. Tyler was lying on a stretcher identical to the one I had been brought in on, but instead of the quiet entrance I had managed, there were people surrounding him and holding what looked like a balled up t-shirt to his head; served him right for flying through the parking lot. The curtain closed abruptly with the departure of the paramedics and the arrival of a nurse. I feigned sleep as I waited for Dr. Cullen and listened to Charlie tap his feet impatiently. Go figure he would have one of the most annoying habits on the planet. Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore and was about to yell at him, a burst of strawberry assaulted my nose. My eyes shot open as I glared at the petite girl who stood just outside the curtain.

"How are you feeling, Edward?" Bella asked softly, her voice holding a hint of amusement. Was it really _that_ entertaining to see me lying in a hospital bed?

Charlie cleared his throat and stood, stretching. "I'm going to step out and update Beth."

He slipped past Bella, making her look quite small, and disappeared. I waited until I heard the door to the little area close before I spat, "Peachy fucking keen."

She stood staring at me for a moment then finally, "I'm sorry, Edward," fell from her perfect lips.

"How can you apologize if I don't even know what you're apologizing for?" She didn't move. "You should have just let the van kill me—it would have made your life so much simpler, princess."

Her eyes widened, looking even more like butterscotch discs as they did, and she stepped forward into the small room, "You really think I want you dead?"

"It sure as hell seems like it."

"I would never wish you ill. I don't know why you think me capable of that," she hesitated, a frown creasing her forehead, "I just don't think we should be friends."

"Then what the fuck are you doing here?" The hurt that covered her beautiful face was too much to handle. My eyes fell back to my lap and I didn't even realize she was gone until the legs of the chair scratched across the tile and Charlie began detailing my Mother's conversation.

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thank you to my wonderful "unofficial" betas, my and my shefflyn frances. i appreciate you both more than words could ever say. lurve to you both. :D

PLEASE READ AND RESPOND... though i'm not sure my slacker ass deserves it.


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